JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Trade (Wamendag) Dyah Roro Esti said Indonesia is ready to face the impact of the trade policy of the President of the United States (US) Donald Trump by prioritizing trade diplomacy strategies, strengthening regional solidarity with ASEAN, and accelerating export market diversification.
In the "Quarterly Webinar Series 1: Understanding the Impact of Trump's Tariff Policy on Indonesia", which was held online, Wednesday, May 21, Deputy Minister of Trade Roro said that Indonesia also plans to revive the Indonesia-US bilateral cooperation forum through the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement / TIFA which was last held in 2018.
"In response to the tariff policy, Indonesia continues to move forward with several strategies. This strategy includes diplomacy, regional solidarity with ASEAN, and diversification of the export market," said Roro, quoted by Antara.
The reciprocal rate is a policy taken by US President Donald Trump to charge countries that are considered to impose high trade barriers against the US, including Indonesia.
Initially, Indonesia was subject to a reciprocal rate of 32 percent. However, in the meantime, Indonesian products entering the US are only subject to import rates of 10 percent until July 9, 2025, to open up further negotiating spaces.
Roro said Indonesia would take structured and constructive steps in dealing with this situation.
On this occasion, Deputy Minister of Trade Roro also revealed that Indonesia proposed human resource development which includes education, science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and the digital economy.
Furthermore, Indonesia also proposes more balanced cooperation in the financial services sector and asks for US import rates on Indonesia's leading export products, such as garment, footwear, textiles, furniture, and shrimp to be more competitive than competing countries.
In addition to prioritizing trade diplomacy with the US, Indonesia's second step is to encourage ASEAN regional solidarity.
According to the Deputy Minister of Trade Roro, ASEAN must act as a unit so that ASEAN's influence remains strong on global platforms.
For this reason, Indonesia supports Malaysia as Chair of ASEAN to start regional ASEAN dialogue with the US.
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"Before the announcement of the reciprocal tariff policy, Indonesia had proposed a non-paper preparation at the ASEAN Economic Ministers' (AEM) Retreat meeting in Johor, Malaysia (28/2/2025), to anticipate US tariff policies. The proposal emphasizes the importance of ASEAN centrality in the midst of global trade tensions," added Roro.
In terms of market diversification, the Indonesian government has accelerated the completion of 16 free trade agreements (FTA), including the Indonesia-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (ICA-CEPA), Indonesia-Peru CEPA, Indonesia-EU CEPA Trade Preference Agreement Agreement (Indonesia-Iran Preferential Trade Agreement/PTA) and Indonesia-Tunisia PTA to the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJ-EPA) Protocol Amendment.
"With the ratification and implementation of these agreements, Indonesia is expected to expand market access and strengthen international trade relations," said Deputy Minister of Defense Roro Esti.
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